Language Barrier

Over 12 years ago, as a 7th grade student, I chose to study French instead of Spanish because the French teacher at my middle school was awesome and the Spanish teacher had a reputation for being mean. I never regret learning French, because it led to spending my junior year of high school living in France as an exchange student. My French family was wonderful and made sure I had a memorable, fun-filled year in southwest France.

However, I always wish I knew Spanish. So many of the my patients speak only Spanish, and relying on using a Spanish-speaking dental assistant can be frustrating.

So, for the first time ever I'm now taking an actual Spanish class. It's held through NISD (the local school district) at a nearby high school. We meet 2 nights a week for 4 weeks. I have no illusions about how much Spanish I can learn in a month, but it's fun learning the basics like greetings, vocabulary, and easy conjugation. Hopefully I can pair what I learn in this class with some dental terms and phrases and be on my way to some simple communication with my Spanish-speaking patients.